


Shielded Unfealty

by Glow197



Series: Avenue of Apostasy [1]
Category: Warframe
Genre: Found Family, Kral just kinda lamenting a lot out of guilt, a bit touchy feely here and there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-17 04:33:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 12,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29219553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glow197/pseuds/Glow197
Summary: This was based off of an idea I had after completing heart of Deimos. On Phlyegas, the exterminate mission, I was thinking about what happened to any grineer that survived a tenno coming in to get rid of the population there. This was the result. It's kind of a backstory for a steel meridian member oc as well.I will be hoping to update this as often as I can. I apologize for any bad writing, as this is the first fanfiction I've ever actually made, and it's mostly for fun. For possible updates, follow my tumblr https://birb-is-the-worb.tumblr.com/
Series: Avenue of Apostasy [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2179935
Comments: 14
Kudos: 11





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Summary: Unnamed shield lancer has been deployed on Phleygas, Deimos, and is fighting for his life and his comrades lives. Hyekka master comes in and helps them, but warns them about a nearby tenno. Caution ensues.

Phlyegas, Deimos. It was absolute turmoil. A shield lancer had somehow gotten himself and a few comrades backed into a corner. He was in front of them all obviously, as he was the one protecting them. But the beast.. no, it wasn’t even alive, this THING in front of him had been closing in, along with several smaller infested. The charger had been swiping at his shield, head-butting into it, had tried to go for his ankles a few times. Those behind him, a scorpion, an elite lancer, and a heavy gunner, had been taking care of the smaller infester that were advancing. He then realized, taking a step back, he had been backing away, now just half a foot away from the other three. They were running out of space, and time. He looked back at the three, and then back to the charger, just in time to see it was approaching again much faster than before. He planted his feet to the ground, and held his shield low, bashing the thing away once it made contact. That had done it, gotten it a few feet away, but for how long?? How long till backup arrived?? How many times could he knock these things away before they got the best of him?  
Lost in thought for just a split second, he snapped out of it upon seeing a fleshy blur hurdling itself at the charger, and instantly, he sighed with relief. He knew what it was, and so did the other three. He looked in the distance, and there he saw her. A hyekka master. And the blur had been one of her many loyal hyekkas. A few more dashed out, taking down any crawlers or infested drones nearby. The hyekka master then spoke, sounding alarmed.. VERY alarmed. And for good reason. The words the spoke made all in the room freeze.. maybe even one or two still struggling infested.  
“TENNO SKOOM!!”

The shielded lancer hesitated.. but seeing the unnerve of the others, marched forward to the door, holding his shield high, and peeking out. He didn’t SEE any tenno, or warframes… that didn’t mean anything though. A frame could be right above him and he’d never know, a tenno standing just inches from his shield and he wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. They were terrifyingly sneaky like that. The shielded lancer sneaked forward, hand on his holstered viper.. nothing… in fact.. NOTHING… there was no noise.. the entire time they had been here, there were the howls and the groans of infested, the commands and calls of other Grineer.. and now, all the group could hear was the tapping of their own feet, which echoed through the golden Orokin halls they stood in. Once they all had stepped out of the door, they shuffled behind the shield lancer as was protocol. The hyekka master and scorpion in front, the heavy gunner and elite lancer in back. The shielded one stopped, putting his hand up for the others to stop as well. To listen, for anything, any injured Grineer, approaching infestation. Yet, there was nothing.  
He kept walking, beginning to take out the viper at his side, aiming it forward and grasping at it. Underneath his gloves, he could feel himself sweating. Who wouldn’t be sweating?? He had just fought for his life from his own infested comrades, and now there was a supposed tenno nearby..


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The shield lancer and his group find themselves under attack by an unseen tenno.

Speak of the void devil.

From right behind, a scream was heard, the elite lancer’s voice.

They all looked behind, and saw him staggering on his feet. A long, glowing arrow had been embedded in the side of his neck, having pierced through his armor. A few more seconds, and he fell back, either dead, or losing too much blood to stay conscience. There was a large red splash on the ground already from the fall. By that time, the rest of the group had already backed off and were running away. They knew that if they didn’t move now, their broken ranks would suffer the same fate as the lancer. The group of hyekkas stuck behind, preparing to take on whatever force had just attacked.  
Their heavy footsteps echoed through the empty halls. It was the only noise they could make out. If the tenno was following them, they were definitely too quiet to hear.

The four found themselves in a room with a much higher ceiling, dome shaped. Of course the infested tissue that had wormed its way through blocked off the view of many areas. It did however, also make for a very good route across a chasm that had formed in the derelict. The shielded lancer looked behind, and stood ground while the others trekked up the slightly pulsating fleshy bridge. So far, so good.. he didn’t SEE any tenno coming through.. but again.. did that make any difference??  
A sudden noise made him jolt up and point his viper again, towards the thin door.. the gentle tapping of tiny feet…

Low and behold, he almost pulled the trigger as two of the hyekkas bolted through. Relief swelled over the group. Surely.. they had taken out the stealthy tenno and come back to their master. As they got closer, the hyekka master rushed forward. It was plainly obvious they had several cuts, bruises from the fight... and even a bullet wound on their fleshy bodies. But the hyekka master seemed relieved that at least two of her pack had survived.

But walking forward was a mistake. She was no closer than two feet from her remaining pack when another arrow flung forward and struck her throat, an instant death. She fell forward and the two hyekkas fled. One however, tripped in its surprise, falling over the edge of the infested bridge, tumbling into the abyss below. The other dashed past the remaining three of the group, who knows where it would end up going. That didn’t matter. The heavy gunner stepped from behind, aiming her gorgon at the air, trying to find the source or the arrows. The young shield lancer had heard before of some frames being able to turn invisible. If he hadn’t believed that before, he believed in it now. He called out to the heavy gunner, wanting her to stay behind. This was his first time encountering a tenno.

He didn’t want to watch any more comrades die, but she didn’t seem concerned with risking her life in such a way. Continuing to step forward, she slowly shifted the gorgon, looking for anything. Disturbance in the air, foot prints in the infected bridge, a tenno appearing inches from her face maybe.. but nothing.

The shield lancer felt a whizz of air right next to his head as an arrow flung past, inches away from him, striking the heavy gunner in the back. He jumped, feeling himself almost slip off the edge as well. He only stayed on his feet after he felt the tether from the scorpion behind him, grappling him by the arm. The shield lancer readjusted himself as the grapple slipped off his arm.

The shield lancer and the scorpion, the only two remaining, looked at each other. They both knew if they stayed here any longer they’d be next.. but if they ran, would their fate be any different at all??

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, any criticism or support is greatly appreciated! ^_^


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The shield lancer and scorpion are the last two left of the group, and run into the trouble presented by the orokin derelicts. Shit happens.

They decided on yes, they could get through this, and sprinted for the closest door, which was luckily not in the direction any arrows had come from. The room they now found themselves in was much smaller, there were raised areas on the side that led to various other rooms. They just kept running however, fearing that if they stopped for even an instance they would succumb to the same fate as the rest of their group.

Neither of them knew how long they had been running from room to room, but eventually the scorpion stopped, leaning on a large pillar to catch her breath. It was still silent, but they hoped they had won some extra time till backup got here.

That is, if anyone was coming for them.

After all, Deimos WAS well known through the system for being lethal, what with all the toxic infested spores floating around. If they weren’t careful, they very well could die here.

The question was if the infestation would get to them first, or if this elusive tenno would.

The scorpion stretched her arm, and reached towards her belt for her machete. But something stopped her, and she looked down, making a grunting sound. The shield lancer also looked, feeling a shift of weight in his foot. Both were in shock from what they saw.

They were both standing on what seemed to be a pressure plate. Of course.. of course this would happen, Orokin derelicts were filled with these sorts of traps. But what was going to happen? Undeniably something with lasers.. the scorpion surprisingly grabbed the lancers arm. He was taken back a bit, but at this point he didn’t care. If he stopped to question anything, even for a moment, it could seal their fate.

She led him into the next room over, and as soon as the doors closed behind them, a turret appeared from the ceiling. THIS was the trap.. not some lasers, it was an Orokin sentry. The shield lancer stepped in front, barely in time to deflect a series of energy bullets. Great… perfect… He reached his hand from behind the shield slowly, pointing his viper. Every few seconds, shooting round after round at the sentry. It certainly was tough..

About a minute had passed, and the gun stopped, only made a few clicking noises. It need to be reloaded..

He was just about to reach for more ammunition from his side pockets, when he noticed the sentry had stopped firing.. he peaked around the shield and it seemed that it was now busted up. He hadn’t expected it to go down that easily but.. he’d accept it. It meant they could keep advancing after all.

He turned, expecting to see the scorpion watching his back. What he saw was far from that comforting expectation.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The shield lancer finds himself utterly alone with a tenno, to fend for himself.

She had been shot directly in the back by another arrow, and had he not turned around, he would have suffered the same fate. The moment he turned, an arrow bounced off of his shield, ricocheting into the wall. He was the last one left of the group, he couldn’t die here! He turned and dashed off once again.. he felt rather tired of all the running.. all the hiding.. but what else could he do?? He KNEW he couldn’t take a tenno head on, let alone one that could just DISAPPEAR like this! He hadn’t even seen what this frame looked like!!

Though he had never seen ANY frame before. Only heard descriptions of them from older and higher ranking grineer. They sounded… strange to him.

He stopped in a particular room.. it was full of crates, and lockers.. he took the opportunity to hide behind a locker and recompose himself.

It was then he realized, he was actually RUNNING.. for much longer than most Grineer would. He didn’t think he had ever done this before, why was he doing it now?? Maybe because he was now alone? It was a threat he was new to? Sure the initial group ran away.. but they probably would have stopped much sooner to face the frame.. but him? He couldn’t dream of it now. He was shaking in his cloned flesh.

Maybe if he just stayed there, the tenno would lose interest in him? He was just one shield lancer..

He began scanning the room for any other places to hide, should this place fail, and he saw something else that shook him to his core. He should have paid attention when he entered.

Scattered around were containers, appearing to be filled with highly volatile materials. He put his shield up, trembling, waiting for the frame to do something. What else could he do?! If he moved, the tenno would KNOW he was here!

And indeed, something happened.

An arrow zipped into the room, striking a container, and the shield lancer could only see white, could only hear a horrible ringing, echoing in his head.

He didn’t know how long the ringing went on, only that it wouldn’t stop.

He couldn’t move, couldn’t put his hands to his ears and try to block out the noise, not that it would help. He couldn’t see anything, couldn’t FEEL anything. It felt was like he was in milky white abyss for an eternity.

Through the ringing, he heard a single noise, a hoarse and growly mewling. And then something on his… face? Yes, where his face would be, he felt something poke his cheek. It was soft, squishy at first, but then something sharp protruded from them. Finally, FINALLY, he began to see faint outlines. Intertwining vines of infestation, golden adornments through the room.. now opened lockers, and.. the face of one hyekka. It must have been one of the two that escaped the tenno.. The shielded lancer suddenly realized, there was a massive amount of weight on his chest, and there was no way it was the hyekka before him. He looked down, his neck in quite a bit of pain, to find there was rubble, and debris, large rocks laying on his chest. No wonder he couldn’t move.. He began to more forcefully push his arms upward, just enough to start knocking over the weights on his chest. Eventually, most of it was gone. He grabbed onto a larger piece of rubble- one that would have surely killed him if it had hit him- and shakily began to stand. He almost fell over even. The hyekka jumped onto the boulder, sniffing his hand and arm. It seemed to recognize him from earlier.

Memories began to flood back into his head… right.. he was here on some sort of mission with a very large squad of grineer… he and a few others had gotten separated and were fighting off the infestation, until a tenno came.. hunted all of them like animals, and now he was here, in the aftermath of an explosion.

He felt.. something else, very suddenly. It wasn't an emotion he had felt before in his short life. Shame.. guilt..

He had run, hid, like a coward.. his comrades had died fighting.. what would happen if there were others here, what if they found out about his cowardice? He had heard many who did such things were sent to Rathuum, to be executed. One of the executioners himself was a Grineer who was sentenced for running like that! He was only alive because he had killed all his executioners.

He shook off the feeling. He didn’t think it was very important, or at the least, he didn’t want to feel these things. The hyekka bounded in front of him, as if ready to leave. He was ready to leave this room too.. he had probably been lying there for an hour or two, and the tenno most definitely was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY a longer chapter and things are beginning to pick up pace!!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The shield lancer laments his losses, and encounters a strange little foe.

The derelict felt different now.. empty.. it was very empty. Any infested that survived the onslaught were nowhere nearby. The chances of any other surviving Grineer seemed slim to none. It was a miracle that the shield lancer was walking. He begun to walk through the halls and rooms again, retracing his steps. He entered the room with the sentry. There was the scorpion again.. Laying, still dead, on the other side of the room… He slowly walked forward. He could have done something.. why wasn’t she watching his back!? What had even happened? Did she turn around for a second? Did the Tenno take that as a window of opportunity to strike? More and more of these thoughts rushed into his head.

He gingerly picked up her machete. A reminder of his failure.. but also a useful tool. It wasn’t like she’d need it now.

He kept walking. The hyekka led him all the way back to the bridge. There were the heavy gunner and the hyekka master. The feline mewled angrily, sniffing its commander. But she was dead, no chance of getting back up now. The heavy gunner was equally unmoving. Why didn’t she stay behind him? He could have protected her too at least.

He walked up to her corpse as well, grabbing her ignis off the ground. A flamethrower would be incredibly handy for many reasons.

He walked past them too, to the place where the elite lancer had fallen. It was a bit more of a trek than the others.

The much larger looking Grineer lay there. There was nothing he could have done to save his comrade. He was attacked from behind.

The shield lancer looked around the room again. It looked the same.. it felt different. Sure it felt empty.. but now there was no longer any sense of impending doom. No tenno to smite him down. Probably no infested to come devour him. He almost felt safe.

He took a deep breath.. it felt like the infested spores in the area had lightened up a bit too.

What was he to do now though? It was just him and the hyekka..

Him, the hyekka.. and something else, something that was more of a hindrance.

A much louder, FAR more aggressive mewl was heard behind him. He turned, to see the outline of a slender, teal creature appear. A WILD kavat, most likely much more hardy than a hyekka to survive in a place like this. He put up his shield just as the wild creature leaped, and then bounced off. These things.. they were fast. REALLY fast, and agile. It was no wonder the Tenno bred these things for specialized forms of combat. He took the viper from his pocket again and fired, but the little beast dodged every single bullet. This was bad. Not only could this thing easily tire him, it could end up attracting any infested that were still alive and walking. He had to get rid of this thing, fast. As the kavat leaped onto a wall, and bounced off to pounce on the shield lancer, the hyekka jumped up to intercept it. While slower, hyekka’s were bigger, and much stronger than wild kavats. They were clone to have much more muscle, and without fur they could fight longer and harder without breaking sweat. The two felines struggled against each other, tangling into a grotesquely beautiful tangle of blurry movements, until the hyekka had latched onto the wild kavat’s neck. Hissing and snarling erupted from both of them, though the hyekka now sounded far more aggressive. The two stopped moving nearly as much. He could tell that the hyekka had already overpowered the kavat, and he ended up actually looking away. He didn’t know why. Seeing others perish was completely normal for grineer units. But this particular instance shook something in his soul, if he had one. It was different this time.

He looked back once he heard nothing. There was quite a bit of blood on the ground now.. and the kavat was completely still. The hyekka dropped the other and slowly walked back to the shield lancer, giving his leg an acknowledging rub with its head. The shield lancer took a few steps and hesitantly took the dead kavat off of the floor by the scruff of the neck. If he let this sit, it would attract more infested.. not to mention..

He didn’t want to die here. He wanted to survive. Maybe even find a way off this horrible moon. He couldn’t do that if he starved. The shield lancer began walking with the hyekka at his side to find a good place to rest, to form a base, a temporary home.

But WHY was he feeling these things…? Not.. wanting to die, not in this manner? It wasn’t something he had experienced before… perhaps it was because it was his first near death experience. Most grineer didn’t make it past their first.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Objective: fucking survive

The kavat was long gone. As much as he was oddly disgusted by the act, he needed to eat, and so did the hyekka. It was weird that eating a kavat was uppalling to him. He had eaten far worse things regularly.

He had made a small fire using whatever pieces of plant matter he could find from the over grown trees often found in these derelicts, and rocks and rubble from walls, lit with the ignis. He lolled his head upwards a bit, looking around the room. It was one of the strange, dome like rooms. Small, but a dead-end room that was big enough for one person. He had used the fire to burn up any infested matter in the room, making it a little bit more bearable. With the smoke going out through the door, he hoped it would keep infested away from their little base.

The hyekka was at his side, still chewing on a kavat bone. He wouldn’t question that. He sometimes wanted to pet it, but.. hyekka’s weren’t pets or companions, not the way the tenno bred their own kavats and kubrows. Not that he knew of at least. Maybe the hyekka master did have some sort of connection with her pack. She did seem almost excited to reunite with them before being shot. Though with her face covered it was hard to tell what she was feeling in that moment.

He looked at the machete he acquired from the scorpion. It would probably come in handy… even if looking at it made him feel sick, guilty.. he had failed them all, he knew he could have done something more.

He sighed. There would be work to do, work in order to survive. He was certain that he could live off of kavats for a while if he needed to, but not for very long. He’d have to leave this place soon.

~~~

Time had passed, he had no way to measure, but he was certain it had been days.

In the corner of the room there was a map he had been working on, scrawled on a wall. It was of the derelict, as accurately as he could make it. Which was to say.. not very accurate or professional. But it worked for him. He could tell where he was. He had only recently tried going through grates, he knew that’s how Tenno usually broke into these places. He couldn’t go through the way he had come in, as it was most likely infested horribly now.. not to mention, he didn’t remember where that was. So the vents were his best chance. The hyekka could still come with him too, which was a relief. He wanted at least something familiar with him. Luckily it seemed to want to go EVERYWHERE with him, hunting, exploring the derelict, hell sometimes it slept right next to him. It was certainly friendly with grineer.

But something else was bothering him.

He knew what he planned to do to get out at least... he'd go through the vents probably, find the entrance to this hell hole, and leave. What was he meant to do when he got out?

The planet itself was thought to be uninhabitable, the only actively surviving 'citizens' being a family of infested orokin, so he had heard through the grape vine.

How would he even get OFF this planet? He had no ship.. no means of surviving outside the derelict..

Why did he want to leave so much? He knew there was nothing for him on this planet, nothing worth anything. He actually had a higher chance surviving in here.

Yet he didn't WANT to be trapped for some reason. The thought terrified him. Living the rest of his days as the survivor of a failed grineer assault.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy it's time to fuckign LEAVE

More time had passed, to the point where the word lost most meaning to him. Every second felt like a minute, every minute an hour. He could feel his perception beginning to flip, the only measurements of 'time' being watching the flickering of his makeshift fire and trying to determine seconds from it. He felt sick from it, trapped, like he had gotten himself into some cage.

Well he was fed up with it.

He had been collecting small amounts of meat from every time he and the hyekka went hunting for the wild kavats in the derelict. This portion, usually cut from the skinny legs of the animal, were what he hoped would keep him going till he could find SOMETHING else to eat. Though he also suspected he wouldn’t be finding much more to eat other than kavats. Everything else here was most likely infested and would kill him if he ingested it. It made him wonder, how did the kavats survive? Probably feasting on slaughtered grineer... the thought made his stomach turn.

He grunted at the hyekka and stood up. With one final look at the map, he sighed, feeling a tad bit more confident. But there was one thing he had to do now. Sure, a viper, a machete and a shield could help survive. But there one thing specifically that would most likely decide whether or not he’d be eaten alive by the infestation.

He began the trek back to the bridge once more, able to at least remember that like the back of his hand. Laying there were two bodies. The heavy gunner and the hyekka master. The hyekka had followed him till now, staying behind at the door to the room, tense looking. He didn’t blame the poor thing. It was probably in some way grieving.

The two bodies before him were practically unrecognizable now, covered in infestation, save for parts of clothing and armor. The only way he could tell who was who was from the bodies not having moved, being corpses and nothing more. The hyekka master was further away, while the gunner was closer to the door.

He grunted at the hyekka once more. It was now time for them to go, for real this time. The hyekka huffed in return, and quickly ran across the room, avoiding its former master.

~~~

The vents were far more difficult to navigate than he thought. He didn’t know how the Tenno did it at all! Many parts went vertically upwards, others steep drops. But he didn’t go up anyways. If he remembered correctly, the entrance was probably at the bottom of the tower. He hoped it was.

As he dropped down, once again, he was met with quite the face.

A charger, a mere foot away from his face.

He gasped, falling backwards, and putting his shield up, just before the charger’s claw slashed down at him. It bounced off, and for a moment, he was safe. But this was a charger. It was called a charger for a reason.

He scrambled back onto his feet, waiting for the infested creature to attack again.

Just as it was about to ram into him, that familiar pink blur pounced down from the vent, onto the chargers face, effectively leaving it unable to see for just the moment. The shield lancer took this opportunity to whip out his viper, and carefully aiming, firing at the chargers leg. He didn’t want to accidentally hit the hyekka after all.

The charger collapsed to the ground, writhing with the hyekka still blocking its vision. The shield lancer walked up to the thing, which seemed to be in agony now.. he almost felt bad, this infested had once been a grineer as well after all. But that was then. This was now, and he had to accept it. He took out the ignis that had been strapped to his back and grunted at the hyekka to get off. The feline obliged, scampering behind him.

He gripped the flamethrower, taking a deep breath, pointing it at the charger. The charger got back up, about to pounce on him as he pulled the ignis’s trigger, setting fire to the beast. In an instant, it thrashed on the ground and went up in flames, dying quickly, but not pain free.

The shield lancer treaded over the charred corpse with the hyekka elegantly bounding behind him. He remembered the path he had drawn on the wall. He had to keep going straight until he found another vent he could descend from.

The drop was a bit larger this time, but nothing he couldn’t handle. He sat off the edge and fell straight onto his feet, wobbling a bit but fairly balanced. The hyekka had no problem with the drop. He marched forwards, holding the ignis to his chest. He no longer heard ANY infested. They seemed to all be in areas far far from the vents. This was good, he could traverse the vents freely.

He continued his march, quickening the pace. He was safe, but only for now.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shield lancer has an unusual encounter...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For this chapter, I used actual Grineer language, just words and such from voice lines, and then put their english translations below. For convenience sake though, the chapter after this just has the english translations. Hope y'all don't mind! (Some words didn't exist in canonical Grineer lines, so I had to improvise with my own versions of the words.)

It was a while now, he had been walking straight.. he could have sworn there should have been other places to turn in the vents. Had he made a mistake?? Forgotten something?? What could it be...

The hyekka began to slow, and then halted, arching its back. What could it possibly be doing? The shield lancer turned, grunting for the hyekka to keep going. The hyekka began backing away, bearing its fangs. What had it so upset?? There were no infested nearby, he would have been able to hear them approaching..

No this was something his Grineer ears couldn’t pick up, but the hyekka’s sensitive ones could.

He looked back down the direction of the vents and had this sudden feeling.. something was coming now, he could feel the fear trickling down his spine. Fear… why fear again? Fear of death.. why was he afraid now… perhaps it was since again, being his first time in a situation like this. Alone, nearly killed by the very first Tenno he had ever seen. It began to dawn on him.. the rest of his troop were fearless, or at least willing to give their lives up like this. Him however? He was frightened to the bone.

He nodded to the hyekka and followed it. He didn’t know what was down the vents, and he didn’t want to know. Upon hearing a creak in the vents he fastened his pace to a jog.

~~~

He didn’t know how long he was running, or the distance. He stopped to lean on the walls of the vents. As durable of soldiers as Grineer were, even he could get tired.

The hyekka stopped to let him rest. He reached into one of the many pockets on his uniform. There was the small bag of dried up kavat meat. He carefully opened it, and tossed a single strip to the hyekka, and began gnawing on a strip himself, savoring it. He had gotten used to the taste, and the idea. Kavats didn’t have much meat, so he had also learned to take his time with the small meals.

After finishing, he slipped the bag into the pocket again. He felt a bit better.. calmer, almost forgetting that there could be something following him.

He immediately remembered upon hearing a.. a GRINEER voice.

“REGER!!”

'There'. Someone had seen him, or caught on to where he was.

He spun around, clenching the viper. There, a distance away in the vent, was… well, it appeared to be a lancer… What was a lancer doing here?? Alive? He held his shield up, glaring at the other, but feeling relieved for a moment. Maybe they had survived as well..

All possible feelings of trust left him however, as he saw another approaching behind, and the symbol they bore. It was a line, going straight through two circles. One bigger than the other.

Steel Meridian.

He had only heard stories of the Steel Meridian. A band of defected grineer, led by the infamous Cressa Tal. He had heard that the grineer they found would end up dead, shot, executed for their loyalty to the queens.. at least those were stories spread by higher ranking units.

He wasn’t in the mood to discover how much was fact or fiction.

He turned on his heel and began bolting down the vents, far too fearful to face another adversity. The hyekka stayed in place for a few more seconds, before following.

“TROK! Rudor on!!”  
(STOP! Hold on!!)

He didn’t understand why he was being told to ‘hold on’. He didn’t care, he just kept running, feeling his feet pound against the metal floor. He skidded, going down another turn, not caring where he was going. He just wanted to get AWAY from those Meridian!

Several turns later, and he found himself going straight, no turns to go into.

And a dead end approaching.

He turned back, only to see his exit was blocked now. Two meridian members, a lancer and what looked like a butcher, stood side by side. He held the shield up, and the hyekka snarled at the pair.

“Rey… Rudor fugre…”  
(Hey… Hold fire…)

They had guns, and knives on them, but they weren’t wielded. They were strapped to their backs, or sides.

The shield lancer let go of his viper.. but didn’t lower his shield. The Hyekka backed away, behind the shield as well.

What was he doing… he could shoot them, he could kill them right now! They were traitors to the queens, to the empire, to the grineer! He could fire his viper before they could even touch their own guns!

So why was he hesitating?

He peaked around the shield… beginning to lower it. They weren’t shooting him… they weren’t even getting that close, giving him space…

“Agre gar ok?”  
(Are you ok?)

The shield lancer huffed.. but nodded. He was alright… why were they asking though??

“Kome rhukl os.”  
(Come with us.)

The shield lancer finally spoke.. the first time he had spoken to a single soul in this horrid place.

“… Gry….”  
(… Why….)

The lancer chuckled and shook his head. Was he.. mocking the shielded lancer??

“… Grat’s so fugra…”  
(… What’s so funny…)

The butcher put his hand out.. a gesture.. for a hand shake.

“Gar… agre not nosmal… agre gar.”  
(You… are not normal… are you.)

What did he mean… the shield lancer grimaced a bit, and refused to shake his hand, even touch it…

“Grat’s klat meng?”  
(What’s that mean?)

He lowered the shield, not as fearful as he was curious now. What were they talking about??

“Gar rur not attaf. Gar ras.”  
(You did not attack. You ran.)

Of course he ran.. he didn’t want to die obviously. He responded.

“Hu rur not wans to rhue.”  
(I did not want to die.)

The two units began chuckling again, the butcher gently tapping the lancer on the side of the arm. Why were they laughing?? The butcher spoke, and turned to the side.

“Gron’t hurg gar. Forruh.”  
(Won’t hurt you. Follow.)

The two stepped out of the way, allowing him to pass.. but did he trust them??

He stepped forward, in between the two.. did he have a choice…? He could follow or fight. It was him and a hyekka against two much older, much stronger looking units. The hyekka growled, but followed behind him.

The butcher put a hand to his shoulder, almost to reassure him. All it did was make him flinch.

“Gar.. agre soof nor.”  
(You.. are safe now.)

That sent a chill down his spine.. what did they mean?

“… grat….”  
(… what….)

He stopped again, turning to look at them.

“Grat do gar meang.”  
(What do you mean.)

The lancer and butcher looked at each other. The lancer sighed.

“Ger we get raft… we ecksgren.”  
(When we get back… we explain.)

The butcher nudged his shoulder, a sign to keep going. He supposed that they wanted to get out of this derelict… he did too. Not like this. He obliged however… but he hated it.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Little Shield Lancer finally gets a name, and has a small heart to heart with one of his rescuers, who will also get a name.

Getting out was far more easy when the two steel meridian knew where they were going. He was somewhat grateful for that. Grateful… what an odd feeling… it made sense to him… but he had never felt it, not like this, before. He never had anything special to BE grateful for. Yeah he had lived.. but at what cost? His comrades died, he had been left abandoned and alone. But now he was alive, surrounded by other living things, even if they were defectors.

The group emerged from the entrance of the infested derelict, and before him was a ship. It was of grineer design, recognized as a Gokstag. It must have been commandeered by the steel meridian for transportation reasons. They led him forward, the lancer aiming his gun around the area to make sure no infested were around.

The shield lancer and hyekka slowly boarded. They were incredibly wary.. could either of them trust this crew?? Did they even have an alternative choice?

Upon the stolen Gokstag were several other Grineer. He assumed them to be defectors.

A few turned, some smiling for a second at him, others just acknowledging his presence by looking at him. It felt welcoming, and yet very weird. Welcoming.. Why did it feel welcoming?? Something he had never fully felt before either.

The two who had escorted him onto the ship pointed to a row of empty seats on the wall. He recognized seats like this, the few times he had been deployed anywhere, he and the rest of his troops would sit on them, waiting to exit the ship. He settled his mind for a second, before realizing…

He was on a STEEL MERIDIAN ship. A ship full of defectors.

They hadn’t attacked him. Gave him a bad look. Just offered him a place to sit.

He plopped down in the seat, tense, suspicious, and afraid.

The hyekka curled up in the seat to his left. The former butcher had probably gone to write up a report, or talk to some of his own crew mates. The lancer sat to his right, putting a hand on his shoulder. The shield lancer didn’t flinch, but his breath did hitch for a moment.

“Are you alright?”

He didn’t reply, just gave the lancer a glance.

“… I know… how you feel that is. It was scary for me too, when the Meridian found me.”

“…”

“I thought too… at first… there was no way I was a defector. But… well… you don’t want to think you’re a defector, until it becomes so obvious you can deny it no longer.”

“… What’s going to happen to me?”

“Well… we’re going to take you back to one of Steel Meridian’s bases of operations. Make sure you aren’t infested, or badly injured… then we’re going to have someone assess if you in any way have the defective gene.”

“And if I don't...?"

He immediately regretted asking that, terrified of the answer he’d get, but at the same time he just had to know…

“… well. We leave you with a choice… you may either choose to stay with us regardless… join the Kavor… or… the third option…”

“… Kill me… correct?”

“No- no… we… bring you back to a Grineer colony… at the risk of being killed as a traitor, but giving you a chance to return…”

The shield lancer hadn’t expected that. He hadn’t expected such… mercy.

“… you mean… no matter what, I will live?”

He pondered for a second before asking another, far more risky question.

“Why did you take me aboard your ship? Let me live… armed. I could end up killing someone…”

The lancer shook his head again, his hand leaving the shield lancers shoulder.

“If you wanted to, you would have done so by now. We could tell when we first saw how you acted… you are more mindful than the average Grineer. We had at first planned on attacking yes, and subduing you, but the way you acted. You were afraid. Truly afraid, for your life, and not the agenda of the queens. Am I wrong?”

The shield lancer was about to retort, almost angry at the claim, but no words came out. The other was right… not once did he consider the queens agenda, or the Grineer agenda. Only his own life. He began to feel another sudden tinge of guilt begin to throb in his chest.

“Don’t… don’t feel bad about it. Nothing wrong with looking out for your safety.”

He got up, to let the shield lancer breathe a bit and sort his thoughts.

He set his shield down, put his elbows on his knees, and thought.

What was he to do? He was beginning to suspect the elite lancer may be correct. What if he WAS a defector?

What if he wasn’t?

Would he end up being killed if he went back to his commander?

~~~

The elite lancer sat next to him for a while longer, letting him process the situation, before speaking again.

"Do you have a name? I am Teg Paxt. But people call me by my last name, Paxt."

It was very common for the most simple clones to be nameless after emerging their tubes. Most grineer names had been self assigned, unless they were made for a high rank. It wasn't something the shield lancer ever considered though, a name for himself. He thought about it for a moment..

"... I am... Kral.. Zav..."

The elite lancer, now named Teg.. or... rather Paxt, put a hand on his shoulder again.

"A fine name. The butcher that was with us is named Crag Brax. And.. have you thought of a name for... her, I believe?"

He pointed to the hyekka who was now asleep. Kral didn't blame her.. he was tired too.

"... I think... Taln. Taln is... a nice name."

Paxt nodded, and got back up. Kral watched, but was too tired to get up himself now. He figured it would be fine if he just rested, not slept, but just sat for a while, try and process things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOPEFULLY I'll be able to draw these lovelies and post them to my tumblr soon, because they don't look like generic versions of their units. I imagine Steel Meridian have custom armor patterns or types, plus they deserve some nice art!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quite some time passed on the Gokstag, it hadn’t even occurred to him that the ship hadn’t taken off yet. What were they waiting for? He lolled his head up, hearing another group come onto the ship, everyone fell dead silent for a moment. At first, Kral didn’t register the voice as anything, but bolted to sit up upon recognizing a slightly high pitched, authoritative voice.

Quite some time passed on the Gokstag, it hadn’t even occurred to him that the ship hadn’t taken off yet. What were they waiting for? He lolled his head up, hearing another group come onto the ship, everyone fell dead silent for a moment. At first, Kral didn’t register the voice as anything, but bolted to sit up upon recognizing a slightly high pitched, authoritative voice.

“This the only one you found?”

He recognized Paxt’s slightly cold, stoic voice off to the side.

“This one, and a hyekka who managed to survive as well.”

“And you searched every room in the derelict?”

“Yes, ma’am. Crag and I found him in the vents, trying to escape.”

Kral felt his hands dig into his lightly armored thighs as he looked at the figure entering the ship, accompanied by a few other defectors.

Cressa Tal… the most notorious defector the Grineer had ever known, and the leader of Steel Meridian.

He gulped, locking eyes with her for a moment. He felt paralyzed, terrified, being looked at.

“Hey. You’re the one they found? What’s your name, soldier.”

His breath stiffened for a moment before he responded.

“… Kral Zav…”

The older defector nodded before turning to go talk to a few of her own soldiers.

That was it?

He expected something more aggressive… more forward… as grineer propaganda often told him about the meridian leader…

He settled back down, looking at Taln. The hyekka’s chest slowly rose and fell. He looked at the groups of defectors who were on the ship. There actually weren’t as many as he thought there were earlier. That was sudden fright speaking.

He no longer felt so frightful, more calm and mellow. He was beginning to trust he actually was safe now, which led him to slowly close his eyes as he felt the ship begin to take off.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He awoke to a sharp feeling on his face, and some pressure. There was Taln, a mere few centimeters from his nose. Her paw was pressed to his cheek, and he could feel her slightly rough tongue on his nose. He smiled slightly, but then remembered why they were here…

He awoke to a sharp feeling on his face, and some pressure. There was Taln, a mere few centimeters from his nose. Her paw was pressed to his cheek, and he could feel her slightly rough tongue on his nose. He smiled slightly, but then remembered why they were here…

Right.. Steel Meridian had saved him. He saw why Taln had woke up too. They were very close to arriving, he could tell by the way the defectors on the ship had begun packing up weaponry and resources on the ship. Chances are they had gotten something from Deimos, aside from him. Even if it was infested, Orokin Derelicts were chock full of useful materials.

He saw Paxt approaching again, and got up. He reached down for the weapons he had placed beside him, only to find that they weren’t there, only his shield remained.

“We took your weapons, only temporarily. We hope you don’t mind, but it is a safety precaution. There aren’t just defectors here…”

What that meant, Kral had no idea. It only scared him…

But he grunted and followed behind the lancer. Taln got up from her little chair and bounded behind him.

“Ready?”

Kral huffed a reply, not too keen to talk as of now… That butcher from before, Crag, approached next to Paxt, with more of a grin on his face. The face looked a bit more mischievous, or at least cheerful. It was oddly nice to see. For some reason.

He followed behind the two, noticing Crag was sort of leaning on Paxt’s arm. It really went to show… elite lancers are kinda big… bigger than shield lancers or butchers…

But he had never seen any Grineer lean on another like that. For an instant, it looked like Paxt was smiling at him too. He hadn’t seen Paxt smile since the derelict, when they were in a group.

They stepped off the ship, and he found himself in some sort of dry dock or landing pad. It looked nothing like in a grineer settlement, it was all silvery and shiny everywhere… it was quite gorgeous but… he didn’t expect this from a Steel Meridian settlement.

Well, when he saw something that wasn’t a grineer defector, it set him on edge, quite a bit…

It was a figure that was dressed in some sort of grey attire. They greeted the few defectors, Cressa, and then gave a glance to him. But it didn’t look negative, simply a bit surprised. He glanced back, and then squinted, even grimaced in a more aggressive manner. Taln arched her back as she followed, raspily mewling at the figure. He felt a tap on his shoulder, and was a bit surprised to see Paxt staring at him, rather bitterly. He was confused, but didn’t know what to say as Paxt grabbed him by the arm and dragged him away from the operative.

“… Kral… they aren’t here to hurt you… and we expect you show them the same respect you would your comrades…”

The grineer was about to say something, but what was he meant to say?? No matter… he just nodded and sighed, some form of apology.

“Good… now… promise me you won’t freak out. You’re going to see something that may make you uncomfortable, but I promise you’ll be safe.”

Kral tilted his head worriedly, but nodded. He’d certainly try…

Paxt huffed and continued, holding a stiff strong hand on the shield lancers shoulder. Crag chuckled, and Kral gave him an annoyed look.

“Paxt is right you know… You’re gonna flip when you walk through those doors. I don’t think a hand on the shoulder’s gonna be enough.”

Paxt grunted at the former butcher, but didn’t say anything. Kral didn’t like the sound of that, but there wasn’t much he could do as the trio walked through the doors that led outside of the landing deck.

Well, what he saw made him grab the lancers larger arm with his own two hands.

He saw… people. A LOT of people. The only ones that were familiar were the few Meridian members who had brought him here. He saw some who looked like corpus members, but that’s all he recognized. Every other person in this… relay, it was called?? Looked very foreign to him. He stuck VERY close to the lancer… and he actually got a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder.

Those that looked akin to the corpus, and a few others who had more beige colored clothes, gave him more dirty looks. Whenever he received one, Paxt gave his shoulder a nudge, to try to get him to look away. It wasn’t very effective. He felt a shiver go down his spine, and then a slightly slimy feeling, from the looks he got.

Eventually, Paxt used his leverage to turn Kral away from the evading glances.

Cressa led the few into a particular room, and entering it actually felt calming to Kral. It was obvious the Meridian had taken many pages from the Grineer. There were a few other defectors, mostly working or discussing something. He noticed that not all of the defectors that were on the ship went in, only Cressa, Paxt, and himself. Crag and all the other defectors probably went off to complete some other tasks or errands?? He huffed.

Something else caught his eye.

A figure he was very unfamiliar with.

They had a head that looked… hooded, and draped. They were talking to a defector, who knows what it was about. But they turned, and Kral saw what looked like a single eye in the center of their face. It certainly looked like an eye, but was more like a ring of light, and a mouth like pattern to match, like a skull. He glanced down, and saw that the figure had strange wispy bioluminescent strands at their waist, that reached down to their knees. Paxt grunted at the figure and waved, then put his hand back on Kral’s shoulder.

“Frame. Don’t mind them, they are friendly with Meridian.”

Said frame began walking away. Kral watched with careful eyes, and seeing their backside again, he recognized a certain glow.

The arrows on their back. Their appearance.

They were very VERY familiar, in a way that struck fear into his chest.

He pulled back, feeling said fear shift straight into anger and aggression. But he was stopped by that big hand on his shoulder. He looked up, locking eyes with Paxt, and he was surprised at the look he was given.

It was sympathetic and soft, not at all like the cold look he had usually had. The weight on his shoulder felt more firm.

He tried to say something, but the words got caught in his throat.

That damn frame. It was THEM! THEY were the one to had attacked him and his troops, he was sure of it.

And Paxt seemed to recognize that.

“… I know you’re angry, but this space is neutral ground. Even then it would be incredibly foolish of you to challenge a frame by yourself Kral.”

By the time Kral managed to look back, the frame was long gone. He wasn’t sure if they recognized him.

He received a pat from Paxt, before he was led to sit down on a crate to wait.

Right… he had to be tested still.

He kicked his feet a little, occasionally looking at the defector that frame had been talking to. Every few seconds, he could hear a little ‘KLEM’ coming from the defector, who, now that he looked closer, had lighter colored armor, and a little roller drone on his back.

Weird…


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ten minutes he had waited, watched his hyekka companion sneak around the room, occasionally bothering some of the defectors with a gentle swat to the forehead. They didn’t seem to mind however, just gave her a gentle pat across her cheek or the back of her neck, and went back to working. He looked up however as two particular defectors entered into the relay room.

Ten minutes he had waited, watched his hyekka companion sneak around the room, occasionally bothering some of the defectors with a gentle swat to the forehead. They didn’t seem to mind however, just gave her a gentle pat across her cheek or the back of her neck, and went back to working. He looked up however as two particular defectors entered into the relay room. One, he recognized as a scorpion. She looked older than the average grineer soldier, which made sense. Many grineer didn’t even live a full life due to the tenno, he expected some meridian members to exceed life expectancy. Though, there was something else about her, she looked very calm, very… well… she looked kind. She looked like if he accidentally spilled water on her, she’d apologize five times before getting a towel. Not that he would do that to her.

The figure next to her was a unit he didn’t recognize, at all. His legs were long, and a bit indented. His feet looked almost claw like, and he wore a gas mask over his mouth. The mask did not cover the rest of his face however. He looked young, healthy… like the rot had simply ceased from him. Not at all like any grineer Kral had ever seen.

The two gave him a glance, before walking up to Cressa. She addressed the two of them.

“That’s him, right there. Make sure he’s healthy at least, and well.”

She pointed at him, he looked left and right to make sure. Yeah… it was him. He stood up, dusting off his armor and looking at the three.

“These two will take you from here, make sure you aren’t infested. But with the way you’ve acted, you’ll do fine.”

He nodded and got up. Taln trotted over to his side.

The taller, more frightening unit spoke.

“… Kral, right? Follow us both.”

His voice was a little muffled from the mask, but he could tell he was… actually rather old, for a grineer. He just looked young. Perhaps it was because his face was partially covered?

He got up, the two leading him out of the Meridian room. He paused at the door, peaking out.

“Scared…? Oh, you don’t worry… just…”

The scorpion took put her two hands on his one in an act of comfort.

“We promise, if anyone tries ANYTHING on you, Tea’rig will give them a good wallop!”

So, the mystery unit was named Tea’rig. Good to know…

He squeezed her hands a moment, and it felt nice. It wasn’t like Paxt, but it was nice.

They walked through the halls, he saw more unfamiliar figures. Some of them… very similar to the warframe he saw earlier. He squeezed her hands again. He received a small squeeze in return.

Any looks he got now, he wasn’t paying attention. He just looked straight ahead.

The two led him down to an unused room that had a few crates stacked around. The scorpion led him to another to sit down, while the other two were situated.

“Alright, Kieg is going to make sure you aren’t infested, I’m going to check a few other things if you don’t mind…”

The scorpion must have been Kieg.

As Tea’rig got some other supplies situated, Kieg pulled up a small crate and sat in front of him.

“Ok, Kral… I’m going to be taking a quick look at your eyes.”

That sounded worrying to him… so when she pulled out a small flashlight, he WAS worried.

“… if this hurts, try not to thrash or anything.”

He felt her two fingers pry his eye open a little more than he felt comfortable with, but he would live…

The bright light entering his eye however, startled him, causing him to jerk back a little.

He felt two hands on his shoulders from behind, only to see Tea’rig had rather quickly gone back to support him.

“… Calm down, you’re doing fine.”

He had expected her to be cross, but she was very calm, almost looked like she was smiling at him...

He huffed, looking back at Kieg, trying to stay as still as possible as she shined the light again into his eye. He didn’t know what she was looking for.

“… hmm… I was worried when he reacted that way to the light… but there seems to be no other signs of infestation, so it was probably just a little scare he had.”

That was a relief to the shield lancer.

“Alright Kral, now, tell me, how often were you exposed to the infestation in the derelict?”

Kral huffed, thinking about it…

“Well… there were a lot of spores floating around during the fighting… but after me and Taln found a room to be in, I used an ignis to clear up a lot of infestation…”

Kieg looked a bit surprised, but it was in a good way.

“Good… if you were around fire and reacted calmly, there’s little to no chance of any infestation being in your systems now.”

That was a relief to him.

“Now, Tea’rig is going to make sure you’re entirely healthy. I’m going to report all this to Cressa.”

He nodded as she left, Taln stuck in the room on a high up crate.

“… alright… ‘Kral’…”

He took a seat on the crate adjacent to Kral.

“… I’m just going to…”

He took Kral’s arm, and lifted it to the side, bending it a few times.

“Have you felt any pain in your body on the way here? Especially around… the ribs? Legs?”

He shook his head. Despite all that rubble falling on him, he probably was alright because his shield had suspended it away from him.

“… ok… and you had no trouble walking?”

He shook his head again. He was walking fine.

“… alright. Sounds good to me then. One final question then…”

He leaned in a bit closer, which suddenly frightened Kral.

“… would you ever… in a million years, consider joining the Meridian?? Or do you want to go back to the grineer?”

From such a short distance, he could clearly see much more about Tea’rig’s face. His eyes weren’t very sunken in or as small as a normal grineer’s would be. His skin looked a bit less wrinkly. It was still very rough yes, but not old or rotted looking. He leaned back, trying to get a bit more distance.

“… I… I mean… what…?”

“… I need a yes or a no…”

Kral stammered his words, looked away, and then back at the other.

“… I… want to… I want to go back.”

Tea’rig sighed, sitting back down.

“… You’ll die if you go back, you know that.”

Kral shook his head grunting in response.

“… I’ll… let Cressa know then… let’s… let’s go.”

Tea’rig forced himself to his feet, huffing and stretching his arm. Kral didn’t understand why he was so upset…


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They arrived back in the Steel Meridian room, and Kral could practically smell the tension radiating from Tea’rig. He stayed near the back of the room, waiting to see what would happen. Tea’rig walked up to Cressa and leaned in, inches away, whispering something in her ear. She looked shocked, but nodded.

They arrived back in the Steel Meridian room, and Kral could practically smell the tension radiating from Tea’rig. He stayed near the back of the room, waiting to see what would happen. Tea’rig walked up to Cressa and leaned in, inches away, whispering something in her ear. She looked shocked, but nodded.

“… Kral, come here please.”

Kral nodded and nervously came forward. What could she possibly want now, an explanation??

“… who is your commander?”

“OH uh… I.. I am under the command of Sargas Ruk… on Jupiter…”

Cressa nodded, before responding.

“You’ll be staying with us for a night, before we take you back then.”

Kral looked at her in surprise… she was… going to take him back home? Well yeah Paxt had told him he could go if he wanted but… he didn’t think he’d ACTUALLY be allowed.

“A-alright…”

He huffed, seeing Kieg approach him again.

“I’ll be taking you back down to the room, you’ll be able to sleep there without anyone coming to bother you.”

She smiled at him, but he could tell she was a tad bit upset. Upset that he wasn’t staying with them?? The thought plagued him for a moment as he was led back down to the room, Taln following, but looking tired of moving around so much… He didn’t blame her.

~~~

He had been laying on two crates for an hour now… how did they even keep track of time here? He had seen through windows, at the view. It was incredible, gorgeous even, but it was a station hovering above Earth. How they kept track of day or night he didn’t know. Perhaps she meant in terms of Jupiter's time.

Taln was resting on his chest now, something the hyekka never did. He looked at her little nose, her big floppy ears… would she be able to come with him? He doubted it. Her master was dead, and usually hyekka’s were killed for meat if that happened. She’d have to be left here, as much as he hated the idea. He had spent so much time with her... and now they were actually going to be seperated. He thought for a second, 'I'd spend the rest of my life on that infested moon, if it could just be us two'.

He stared up at the lights in the room, and how one flickered every few moments. He could hear the buzzing. He hated the noise, reminded him of Grineer settlements when he was waiting for nothing to happen, yet terrified something WOULD happen.

He tapped Taln to wake her up. She looked at him, making a soft ‘mewl’ sound, and got up. Good.. he needed to roll onto his side anyways.

Occasionally, he would hear the tapping of feet or talking outside the door, which set him on edge. But like Kieg said, no one entered the room.

It was peaceful, if a little bit boring, after about half an hour more. He assumed there were periods when activity on the relay was slow, and he took this opportunity to get some more needed rest.

~~~

Whatever dreams he had, he didn’t recall them. He was awoken by a shrill, harsh, screaming sound, and then a quick, panicked meow…

Taln???

Kral jerked up, seeing the hyekka laying by one of the crates, breathing very slowly, and curled up. He rolled off the crate, barely noticing the figure at the door.

“W.. what-“

He turned to see the person standing in the doorway looked like one of the others who had given him a bad look. He wore a light beige color, and had some sort of visor covering his eyes. How he saw through, Kral couldn’t tell.. but what he did know is this person had just attacked Taln.

“WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?”

He glanced down, seeing this operative had a gun in his hands… and Kral was still unarmed, save for a shield…

He backed away, staring at the operative where the eyes would be.

“… Amaryn has strictly ordered this. The impure, the unworthy, have NO future.”

He stared down the barrel of the gun as it was lifted. It looked like a tigris, with some sort of different pattern on it. Not that that mattered.

“W… what… s-stop… pointing that at…”

He was cut off, not by the sound of gunfire, but a loud THWAP, seeing something strike the culprit on the back of the head. The operative fell to the side, lowering the gun, and he saw… Kieg? Holding what looked like a broom…

The next few seconds felt blurry to him… he thought he saw Kieg continuously thwapping the operative with the broom, eventually shoving him out of the room with it.

He waited a few seconds, before collapsing onto the ground, realizing he had been holding his breath. He looked at Taln, who was now getting up. She must have had gotten kicked to the side…

He shuffled across the ground, picking up the hyekka and holding her in his arms, feeling a warm feeling rise into his face.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He didn’t know how long it was until someone came back. It felt like he was on the ground holding Taln for hours, but he knew it had only been a few minutes. He knew they wouldn’t let him be alone like that for long.
> 
> He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder, and he gazed up to see Kieg again. She put a finger onto his cheek, wiping off a little tear drop.

He didn’t know how long it was until someone came back. It felt like he was on the ground holding Taln for hours, but he knew it had only been a few minutes. He knew they wouldn’t let him be alone like that for long.

He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder, and he gazed up to see Kieg again. She put a finger onto his cheek, wiping off a little tear drop.

“There there… he… he can’t hurt you now… he didn’t… hurt you already, did he?”

Kral sat up, whimpering as he grasped the hyekka in his arms. Kieg looked at Taln and made a small gasp, putting a hand on the feline’s back.

“… She looks like she’ll be ok Kral… would you like me to hold onto her?”

He sniffled, putting a hand onto his face, and nodding. He felt Taln leave his grasp, and heard Krieg leave. When he looked up again, he saw… Paxt. He was standing at the door way, and only when Kral looked up did he crouch down to wrap an arm around the shield lancer.

“… New Loka. They don’t like the Grineer very much. We should have anticipated this… I’m sorry.”

Kral shakily raised his arms to hug the lancer.

Paxt didn’t leave for a while, he just sat there, with Kral shivering and occasionally sniffling.

~~~

Eventually, the lancer got up, taking Kral’s hand.

“… Come on… it’s time for you to go home, I think.”

Kral was surprised with how he felt now… he didn’t think he’d be able to, but he got up easily. He felt so much lighter, so much better, having been able to somewhat cry it out.

Paxt led him back up to the Meridian’s main room, where Cressa was worriedly sitting. She got up, and approached, but seemed unsure what to say for a moment.

“… I’m… very sorry about what happened last night, we should have taken other precautions…”

Kral was silent. He wasn’t mad at her, he was just… mad. And frightened.

“… We’re having a team escort you to a Grineer settlement. Tea’rig will see that you get there safely.”

She put a hand on Kral’s shoulder and gave him a sympathetic glance, before he turned to see Tea’rig, and a few other defectors. He didn’t recognize the others. Tea'rig tilted his head as a gesture.

“Come on. Let’s go.”

Kral nodded and followed behind, finding himself back in the landing dock, in front of that Gokstag again.

~~~

The ride was much more tense feeling. Everyone was silent. Taln wasn’t there. Tea’rig sat in the seat next to Kral. He had been given back his viper, but the other weapons he had acquired were still back with the Meridian. He wouldn’t need them again anyways.

He grasped his shield in his hands, anticipating his return.

The ship landed with a sudden jostling movement. Made sense. There probably weren’t many good places to land safely. They had to find an unused landing dock on a bigger ship.

Tea’rig got up, waiting for him. Kral followed behind. They were both silent as they made their way through the large Grineer ship. Not many guards were nearby, and Tea’rig was very good at finding alternate paths. Eventually he stopped.

“… This is where we part ways… I… hope it goes well for you.”

Kral looked at him for a moment, before stepping ahead.

“Thanks... for… uh… everything, I guess.”

Tea’rig nodded, and leaned on the wall, making a shooing motion with his hand. Kral rolled his eyes, almost smiling now. He obviously didn’t mean it maliciously, he could tell.

He continued through the corridors, quiet as a pobber, until he saw a larger group of guards. Ok… this was his chance… he slowly approached, hoping they’d notice him. They did. They saw him all too clearly.

The moment they laid eyes on him, their guns were aimed. He stopped, nervously staring down the barrels. He should have known... why in void would he just be allowed to WALTZ right up to a galleon and reintegrate? It was such a stupid idea!

“TEA’RIG!!?”

He had to find that defector again. He’d DIE here, and he wasn’t too keen on that anymore!

There were suddenly many more voices behind him, shouting commands that he was too frightened to make heads or tails of. Most likely though, they were shouting about capturing him. A bullet whizzed past his head, and he ducked off to the side into a vent, trying to lose them.

As he ran, he felt an extremely sharp pain, no.. not sharp, a CRIPPLING pain, in his arm. He glanced down, to see it was bright red, dripping blood.

He had been shot, and he was so terrified he hadn’t notice until the pain actually kicked in. He huffed, leaning onto the wall of the vent and grasping his arm. It didn’t hurt before, but now it felt nearly unbearable. His breath became shaky as he slid down a bit, now sitting on the floor of the circular vents, which wasn’t very comfortable in the first place. For a moment, his vision even faltered.

He heard footsteps in the vents, several sets of them. There were soldiers approaching, and he was a duck in the mud.

He closed his eyes and craned his head to look upwards. His vision went a bit blurry again from the combination of pain beginning to travel across his arm, and probably the blood loss. This was it. After everything he had fought to stay alive, he was going to fall here.

He held his breath, closing his eyes and waiting for a gunshot, but nothing came.

Instead, he heard a few thumps on the ground, the sound of bodies collapsing, and the shouts of soldiers.

He opened his eyes, finally releasing the breath in his lungs, to see a familiar tall and daunting figure.

“… T… Tea’rig… I…”

The defector put a finger to where his mouth would be, and looked behind himself, before slowly approaching Kral.

“… My arm… I got… s-shot…”

He coughed, and took another deep breath. He felt himself being lifted off the ground, and was shocked by the strength of his savior. Yeah Tea’rig was tall, but he didn’t look like the type to possess this kind of strength.

“… I’m going to carry you back. Don’t worry… I know how to get out without alarming anyone…”

Kral gave a thankful sigh, though it blended with his heavy breath. He felt safe… he felt comfort, and he trusted the hands he was in. So he slowly let himself succumb to his exhaustion, letting it fade over the pain in his arm.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He found himself awake once more, on the ground of a ship that was moving slowly. There was something tied up around his arm… it felt like… gauze?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE FINAL CHAPTER!! LET'S GO!!

He found himself awake once more, on the ground of a ship that was moving slowly. There was something tied up around his arm… it felt like… gauze?

And he noticed he wasn’t entirely on the ground. He was set down on a set of blankets in the corner of one of the rooms of the Gokstag. He shakily reached his unharmed hand, feeling the wound. It was wrapped up rather nicely… there was no pain, and it was very clean too.

He saw several of the defectors on the ship, two of them sat near him, as if watching over. He craned his head to look at them, and he actually got a smile. But he didn’t see Tea’rig anywhere…

Slowly, feeling returned to the rest of his body, and he sat up. He didn’t think he’d be able to stand yet, he felt too weak for that, but he could get a better look at the room. Tea’rig was still nowhere in sight however. That worried him…

“W… where is Tea’rig…?”

One of the defectors looked down at him and pointed at the corner of the room, and surely he was there, bandaging around his leg. How he didn’t notice him there was beyond him.

Kral huffed, wanting to get up, but too tired to do so. He’d talk to Tea’rig when they got back. For now, he simply leaned back and stared at the ceiling.

He felt safe, VERY safe. He had begun to actually trust this band of defectors. If he couldn’t go back to the Grineer… maybe he didn’t belong with them in the first place. Maybe he belonged here. Maybe he WAS a defector all along.

~~~

The trip back to the relay felt shorter than it should have. Perhaps because he was still tired, still on the edge of consciousness.

He rolled onto his knees to make standing up easier, as he saw the crew exiting the ship. He was still shaky, but he could manage. He stood next to Tea’rig, looking down at him.

“Uh… did… did you get shot… saving me??”

The defector nodded, and Kral looked away guiltily.

“Don’t beat yourself up over it. I’ll be fine. Just my leg, it’ll heal.”

He grabbed one of the chairs and slowly got up. Kral felt he had to help him… so he reached down, wrapping his unharmed arm under one of his shoulders.

“… It’s the least I can do… I… thank you… for saving me…”

Tea’rig nodded, hobbling along as Kral helped him to the door. He figured he’d better make a good impression anyways, helping someone who seemed to be a very esteemed member of the organization, if he was to join as well..

Yeah. He was going to join. If he couldn’t be a part of the Grineer, then it was the least he could do for the group who had saved him.

~~~

It had been weeks later. He had learned names, faces, and felt... welcomed… homely. He usually found himself deployed in the Iron Wake. Since he was used to protecting comrades, it made him an ideal patrol guard.

His attire had changed, bits of his armor had been painted to various blues, and a steel meridian emblem had been printed on. He thought it suited him quite well, he thought. The whole organization suited him. He was able to feel frightened or afraid, and didn’t have to worry about repercussions for it.

He was coming back from a night patrol. He liked patrolling at night, because it was quiet and calm, it was chillier at night, which all together felt nice. As he made his way through the wooded areas, he saw two very familiar faces. Crag and Paxt.

The two seemed to be stuck to each other like glue every time he saw them. They were close, and they relied on each other. Kral had noticed that Paxt only seemed to smile when he was talking to the other, and in turn was usually the one to keep Crag from biting off more than he could chew.

He waved, addressing the two.

“Oi! Did Cressa send you two out for the day shift?”

Paxt grunted and nodded a reply, before speaking.

“Haven’t seen you around much since you joined. Does she always send you out for these night patrols often?”

Kral nodded, as he walked past the two, giving them a wave.

“Maybe I’ll see you tonight, if I get a night off. See you guys.”

Paxt huffed as they passed each other. As Kral walked away, he could hear distant laughs from the two.

“Cute…” He thought to himself. The two were like peas in a pod after all.

~~~

Once he arrived back, he saw a rather unlikely face. Tea’rig. He knew the defector spent most of his time in those empty, unused rooms on relays. When he looked down at what Tea’rig had in his hands however, he was a bit dumbstruck.

In his hands was that little friend of his. Taln.

“… She… she’s back…?”

Tea’rig walked up, nodded.

“She recovered well from the attack… believe it or not, that operative did a number to her rib. No broken bones, but she was still rather hurt from it. But she is better now.”

He set down the hyekka, who looked up at Kral, and began sniffing his feet, before butting her head onto his ankle. He crouched down, putting his armored hand to his companion. He had nearly forgotten about her, somehow… he had been too busy perhaps…

She was here now, however. He wasn’t alone anymore, there was someone he could go on patrols with. He gingerly picked up the hyekka, something he had never done, not like this. He felt Tea’rig pat his shoulder, and heard him walk away.

So there he was, on the outskirts of the camp, hugging his little companion.

“We’re going to be great, Taln… I promise, I’ll protect you.”

He heard a little purr, and he knew, they’d both do just fine here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is just a depiction I did of Kral. It's not my best work, but I thought he deserved it :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm insanely grateful for all the support I got on this work. It's my first as most of you know, and I'm very proud of how it turned out, which is why I've decided this into a series, with backstories for all of the Meridian you saw in this work, and maybe some more. We'll see how it goes. Thank you to everyone who commented and left kudos on this, it means the world to me.
> 
> If you want, leave suggestions for who I should do next. I was considering doing either Crag and Paxt, or Kieg and Tea'rig

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to anyone who's reading this ^_^  
> I hope I did a good job with this. Any tips or criticism are very welcome!


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